How to Fix a Corrupt Boot.ini File

As Windows begins to load, the Ntldr program refers to the Boot.ini file to determine where the operating system files are and what options to enable as the operating system continues to load. So if there’s a problem with the Boot.ini file, your PC will not boot up correctly.

If you suspect that your Boot.ini file has been corrupted, you can use the special Recovery Console version of the Bootcfg tool to fix it. To do this, you must first boot the system with the Windows XP CD and access the Recovery Console.

To use the Bootcfg tool, from the Recovery Console command prompt, type

Bootcfg /rebuild

There are several other parameter switches you can use with Bootcfg. These are listed here

/Add–Scans the disk for all Windows installations and allows you to add any new ones to the Boot.ini file.

/Scan–Scans the disk for all Windows installations.

/List–Lists each entry in the Boot.ini file.

/Default–Sets the default operating system as the main boot entry.

/Rebuild–Completely re-creates the Boot.ini file. The user must confirm each step.

/Redirect–Allows the boot operation to be redirected to a specific port when using the Headless Administration feature. The Redirect parameter takes two parameters of its own, [Port Baudrate ] | [UseBiosSettings].